Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel

Born	(1987-07-03) 3 July 1987
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	German
Entries	71
Championships	1 (2010)
Wins	16
Podiums	28
Career points	585
Pole positions	22
Fastest laps	7
First entry	2007 United States Grand Prix
First win	2008 Italian Grand Prix
Last win	2011 European Grand Prix
Last entry	2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
2010 position	1st (256 pts)

Sebastian Vettel (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯an ˈfɛtəl]; born 3 July 1987) is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won in the 2010 season.

In his first year driving for Red Bull in 2009 he finished the season as the youngest ever championship runner-up. Vettel also secured Red Bull's first pole position and race win in the team's history. The following year he went on to become the youngest driver ever to win the World Drivers' Championship. In the same year he helped Red Bull win the team's first World Constructors' Championship, along with teammate Mark Webber.

Vettel is the youngest Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days, and on his race debut at the 2007 US Grand Prix he also became the youngest driver to score championship points. While racing for Toro Rosso, Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a race, at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to secure pole position. He went on to win the race, making him the youngest F1 race winner by nearly a year. He also is the first and only driver to win a race, secure pole position, and reach the podium in the history of the Toro Rosso team, including the twenty years it was known as the Minardi team.

Vettel also holds the fastest lap-time for a Formula One driver on BBC2's Top Gear programme in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment, with a lap of 1:44.0, beating previous holder Rubens Barrichello and the old Stig, Ben Collins.

Early and personal life

Vettel was born in Heppenheim, West Germany. He has one younger brother, Fabian, and two older sisters, Melanie and Stefanie. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was terrible at school; he also mentioned that his childhood heroes were "The three Michaels", who were Michael Schumacher, Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan. He stated that he wanted to be a singer like Michael Jackson but realised that he couldn't as he didn't have the voice. Vettel lives in Switzerland amongst other racing drivers and is a fan of German football team Eintracht Frankfurt.

Career

Junior series

Vettel demonstrating his Formula Three Euroseries car in 2006

Vettel started racing karts in 1995, winning various titles such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup (2001). In 2003, he upgraded to open-wheel cars, and won the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship with 18 victories from 20 races. In 2005 he drove for ASL Mucke Motorsport in the Formula Three Euroseries. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 64 points, winning the year's top rookie honours. He did not win any races, but this was largely due to the championship's domination by ASM Formule 3. Despite this, he tested the Williams FW27 Formula One car on 27 September as a reward for this Formula BMW success. He then went on to test for the BMW Sauber team.

Vettel finished as runner-up in the 2006 F3 Euroseries, behind series leader and team mate Paul di Resta. He also made his debut in the World Series by Renault at Misano, winning after Pastor Maldonado was disqualified. However, at the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying débris in an accident, and he was expected to be out of racing for several weeks. Nevertheless, he managed to compete in the Ultimate Masters of F3 at Zandvoort the following weekend, finishing in sixth place. He also set third fastest lap time, and it surprised his ASM team boss Frédéric Vasseur. Vasseur said: "I was impressed for sure, because at the beginning of the week I was sure he wouldn't race! But he showed good pace from the first practice session. I can't imagine he's 100 per cent but at least we know we can be competitive in the next F3 Euroseries round at the Nürburgring next weekend – that's important."

Vettel competed in the World Series by Renault in 2007, and took his first win at the Nürburgring. He was leading the championship when he was called up to Formula One permanently, and his seat was taken by Michael Ammermüller.

Formula One

Vettel during practice at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Vettel made his Formula One debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, driving for BMW Sauber.

2006–2007: BMW Sauber

2006

See also: 2006 Formula One season

Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica was called up to replace Jacques Villeneuve for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Vettel impressed on his testing debut by setting fastest time in second Friday Free Practice before the race. The young German also impressed on his second testing session in the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions, a race weekend in which all the BMW cars were quick, with his predecessor Robert Kubica finishing on the podium in the race.

2007

See also: 2007 Formula One season

Vettel was confirmed as BMW's test driver for 2007. Following the serious crash of regular BMW driver Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel substituted for him at the United States Grand Prix. Vettel was pulled mid-season from the Formula Renault series, which he was leading at that time. He started in seventh position on the grid, finishing in eighth position to take his first World Championship point and became the youngest driver ever to score a point in Formula One (at the age of 19 years and 349 days), a record previously held by Jenson Button – who was 20 years and 67 days old when he finished sixth at the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2007–2008: Toro Rosso

2007

On 31 July 2007, BMW released Vettel to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team, replacing Scott Speed as one of its drivers from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. He earned approximately US$165,000 for finishing the season with Toro Rosso. Before the race, it was also announced that Vettel would drive for Toro Rosso in 2008, partnering Sébastien Bourdais.

Vettel driving the Toro Rosso STR2 at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix

Vettel struggled for his first couple of races while cutting his teeth with his new team, but managed two impressive drives in his 5th and 6th drives for Toro Rosso, a team that was averaging a little worse than 14th place in the 2007 season before Vettel's arrival. In the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for not only his but also Toro Rosso's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions taking them both out of the race and prompting Webber to say to ITV reporter Louise Goodman "It's kids isn't it... kids with not enough experience – they do a good job and then they fuck it all up." Webber also specifically criticized Lewis Hamilton's erratic behaviour in contributing to the accident, describing his antics behind the safety car as 'shit'." Vettel was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube showed the incident may have been caused by Hamilton's behaviour behind the safety car. Vettel bounced back to finish a career-best fourth a week later at the Chinese Grand Prix having started 17th on the grid while in mixed conditions. He collected five championship points, making it both his and Toro Rosso's best race result.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz stated his belief Vettel would be one of Formula One's big stars in the future. "Vettel is one of the young guys with extraordinary potential [...] He is fast, he is intelligent, and he is very interested in the technical side."

2008

See also: 2008 Formula One season

After four races of the 2008 season, Vettel was the only driver to have failed to finish a single race, having retired on the first lap in three of them. In each of these three instances, he was involved in accidents caused by other drivers, the other being an engine failure. However, at the fifth round at the Turkish Grand Prix, he finally saw the chequered flag, albeit finishing in 17th after qualifying 14th and suffering a puncture on the opening lap. In the next race at the Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel scored his first points of the season with a fifth place finish, after qualifing 17th. He scored again at the Canadian Grand Prix fighting off Heikki Kovalainen in the last few laps for the final championship point, having started from pit lane. Vettel finished 12th in France, before retiring on lap one at the wet British Grand Prix after being clipped by David Coulthard and aquaplaned into the gravel trap along with Coulthard. He earned another point at the German Grand Prix, fending off Fernando Alonso and securing eighth after Jarno Trulli ran wide. Vettel retired in Hungary after his engine overheated during his first pit stop. He impressed many at the European Grand Prix by setting the fastest times in the first practice session and second qualifying session, before qualifying sixth on the grid. Vettel finished the race in sixth, two seconds behind Jarno Trulli.

Vettel driving for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix

At the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Aged 21 years and 74 days, Vettel broke the record set by Fernando Alonso at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix by 317 days as he won in wet conditions at Monza. Vettel led for the majority of the Grand Prix and crossed the finish line 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. It was the first podium and win for his Toro Rosso team. Earlier in the weekend, he had already become the youngest polesitter, after setting the fastest times in both Q2 and Q3 qualifying stages, and his win also gave him the record of youngest podium-finisher. Toro Rosso team boss Gerhard Berger said, "As he proved today, he can win races, but he's going to win world championships. He's a cool guy". Hamilton praised the German, stating that this victory showed "how good he is". The nature of the victory and the story of the 21 year old's fledgling career led the German media to dub him "baby Schumi", although Vettel was quick to downplay the expectation the result has brought, particularly the comparison with the seven-time World Champion: "To compare me with Michael Schumacher is just a bit ridiculous...It will be difficult in normal conditions for us to repeat this achievement". He then went on to finish fifth in Singapore. In Japan, he finished sixth after being promoted from seventh after team-mate Bourdais was penalised for contact with Felipe Massa.

In the Brazilian Grand Prix, after running second for much of the race on a one-stop strategy, Vettel overtook Lewis Hamilton in the rain for fifth place on the penultimate lap to contribute to a thrilling climax to the season. He nearly deprived the McLaren driver of the championship before Timo Glock slowed dramatically on the last lap (he was struggling with dry tyres in the ever increasing rain) enabling both Vettel and Hamilton to pass him, earning Hamilton the title, and Vettel fourth place.

After the season had finished Vettel was named Autosport Rookie of the Year.

Red Bull Racing

2009

See also: 2009 Formula One season

Vettel at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, where he took his fourth career win

At the start of the 2009 season, Vettel replaced the retired David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing, and began strongly at the Australian Grand Prix, qualifying third and running in second for the majority of the race. However, a clash with Robert Kubica over second place on the third to last lap of the race forced both to retire. Vettel attempted to finish the race on three wheels behind the safety car to salvage some points, but eventually pulled off to the side. He thought that he would be able to attempt this because the yellow flag resulting from his incident forbids overtaking; instead he was given a ten-place grid penalty for the next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, and his team was fined for instructing him to stay on track after the damage occurred. In Malaysia he qualified in third position, but was demoted down to 13th due to his ten-place grid drop. He spun out of the race while eighth, just before the race was stopped due to adverse weather conditions. However in China he went on to take pole position, the first for the Red Bull Racing team. He went on to win the race ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, again a first for his team, which scored its first victory and one-two finish in the same race. At the age of 21 years and 287 days, Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix driver in history to win for two different teams, having won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for the Torro Rosso-team.

In the Bahrain Grand Prix, Vettel qualified in third, and finished second behind Jenson Button in the race. In Spain, he qualified in second but finished the race in fourth, behind his team-mate Mark Webber who finished in third. Vettel won the British Grand Prix after claiming pole position in qualifying. At the German Grand Prix he qualified fourth and finished second, behind Webber, who won his first Grand Prix. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Vettel qualified second after an eventful qualifying, but had to retire from the race on lap 30 after his car sustained damage from contact with Kimi Räikkönen's car on the first lap.

At the European Grand Prix, he qualified fourth but had to retire from the race with an engine failure. It was the second engine failure for Vettel during the weekend, and the RB5's reliability issues began to show. He finished third at Spa-Francorchamps, and struggled for pace at Monza, finishing 8th at a race he previously won. He qualified 2nd at Singapore, but was given a drive-though penalty for speeding in the pit lane and damaged the diffuser on a kerb, struggling to 4th. He subsequently won the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position.

At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Vettel qualified 16th in a rain-hit session, behind title rival Jenson Button (14th) and Rubens Barrichello (1st), while his team-mate Webber qualified second with Adrian Sutil in third. Vettel needed to score at least second place in the race to keep his title hopes alive. He finished fourth with Button behind, giving Button the Championship and moving Vettel up into second place. He officially claimed second place by winning the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, again ahead of Webber with Button completing the podium. He also scored his third fastest lap of the year, drawing him level with team-mate Webber. However, as Vettel had more second fastest laps, he won the 2009 DHL Fastest Lap Award.

2010

See also: 2010 Formula One season

Vettel driving for Red Bull Racing at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, where he took the first pole position of the season

Vettel continued with Red Bull for 2010, and took the first pole position of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Vettel went on to lead most of the race but a spark-plug failure meant that his lap times slowed down, and as a result the two Ferraris and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton passed him. After a brief challenge from Rosberg he brought the car home in fourth.

At the Australian Grand Prix, Vettel was appointed as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. He took his second consecutive pole position in Australia, ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, but spun off when leading the race, due to a loose wheel nut. In Malaysia, he took his first win of the 2010 season with Webber coming in second place, having passed both him and Nico Rosberg at turn one.

Vettel qualified on pole at China alongside Webber. At the start of the wet race Fernando Alonso jump-started and Vettel was passed by Webber, dropping back to third. The increasing rain forced Vettel and Webber to pit at the same time for intermediate tyres that wore out after only a few laps and dropped them back into the midfield. Vettel slowly climbed back up to finish sixth, ahead of Webber. In Spain, Vettel was outqualified by team-mate Webber and claimed second on the grid. Despite having a major brake problem during the last eight laps, Vettel managed third place after Hamilton crashed on the penultimate lap.

In Monaco Vettel was again outqualified by Webber. In the race he passed Kubica at the start and stayed there for the remainder of the Grand Prix and made it a Red Bull 1–2. After the race the two Red Bull drivers were equal on points in the drivers' championship, with Webber championship leader based on total wins. At the Turkish Grand Prix he qualified third and was running second behind Webber when he made a passing move on the Australian. Vettel lost control of his car and the two collided, putting Vettel out of the race and dropping him to fifth in the drivers' championship, with neither driver accepting responsibility for causing the collision. He finished fourth at the Canadian Grand Prix, maintaining his position in the standings. He started the European Grand Prix in pole position and led from start to finish to score his second win of the season.

Vettel won from pole position at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to take the World Drivers' Championship title.

At Silverstone, both Vettel and Webber's cars were fitted with a new design of front wing. Vettel's front wing was damaged in the third practice session, and Webber's sole surviving example was removed and given to Vettel. Vettel qualified in pole position ahead of his team-mate, but suffered a puncture caused by driving wide off the track on the first lap of the race and fell to the tail of the field. He fought back to finish seventh while Webber took the victory. At the German Grand Prix he took pole by 0.002 seconds, and finished in third position in the race, behind the Ferraris of Alonso and Felipe Massa, after a poor start. He also finished third in Hungary after serving a drive-through penalty for exceeding ten lengths behind the previous car, team-mate Webber, under neutralised safety car conditions. In Belgium, he had a tough race, hitting Button's car whilst attempting to pass, causing Button to retire. Vettel pitted and carried on, but then suffered a puncture whilst passing Liuzzi at the same place, completing a whole lap with a puncture. He eventually finished 15th, which was (other than his retirements in Australia and Turkey) was his worst finish of the season. At Monza he finished fourth after an engine problem scare, and at the Singapore Grand Prix, Vettel qualified and finished second, sticking on Alonso's tail for most of the race. He passed Button for fourth place in the championship. At the Japanese Grand Prix, he dominated all practice sessions bar one, as it was postponed after heavy rain. He qualified on pole ahead of team mate Webber and went on to win with a lights-to-flag victory. Aged 23 years and 98 days, Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix driver to win at the same track on two occasions, having also won the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 2009. At the first Korean Grand Prix, Vettel took pole and led the first 45 laps of the race before retiring with engine failure, handing victory to Alonso.

At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Vettel qualified second but took the lead at the first corner and led for the entire race to victory. With Webber taking second place, and Alonso finishing third, Vettel went into the final race of the season with a 15-point deficit to Alonso, and a 7-point gap to Webber. With the one-two finish in Brazil, Vettel and Webber secured Red Bull Racing's first Formula One World Constructors' Championship. He won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole again, to take the drivers' championship lead for the first time in his career and became the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Together with with James Hunt in the 1976 season, this was also the only time in Formula One history when the World Champion had not been championship leader before in the season.

2011

See also: 2011 Formula One season

Vettel won the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.

After the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Vettel started his title defence in style in the Australian Grand Prix with pole position and a victory of 22 seconds over title rival Lewis Hamilton, who was nursing home his broken McLaren. Vettel continued his title defence in the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he claimed pole position and went on to win the race. Vettel completed his third pole position of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix, and appeared to be in dominating form for the majority of the race. However, poor tyre management haunted him in the last several laps, possibly being related to him being unable to properly communicate with his team as his radio was broken. He finished the race second, holding a 21-point championship lead over Hamilton after three races.

The Turkish Grand Prix started out poorly for Vettel, where he had very little practice time during the Friday free practice sessions, including a crash in the first session. Even with the limited practice, he claimed his fifth consecutive pole position and converted it into a win, extending his championship lead over Hamilton to 34 points. At the Spanish Grand Prix, his pole position streak ended as his KERS failed him during qualifying. His teammate Webber took pole, but Vettel went on to win the race by 0.6 seconds over Hamilton, despite having to deal with a frequently malfunctioning KERS. The following weekend, in the Monaco Grand Prix, he took pole with the second fastest qualifying time in Monaco's history. Vettel was leading the race with a 5 second gap to second placed Button. Due to a radio malfunction the Red Bull pit crew was not prepared for Vettel when he pitted. The net result was that the pitstop was slow, and that he was sent out on the wrong tyres, handing the lead to Button as well. Vettel switched to a one-stop strategy, and stuck with one set of soft tyres for 56 laps. He was caught by Alonso and Button as his tyres deteriorated, but neither were able to pass him. With a few laps remaining, the race was red-flagged after Vitaly Petrov required an ambulance after an accident. The suspended race allowed teams to change tyres and work on the cars, and when the race was restarted under the safety car, Vettel was able to retain the lead during the last few laps.

In Canada, he took his sixth pole position in seven races ahead of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Vettel kept his lead from the start of the race, and for the vast majority of the race he held on to it. The record six safety car periods due to the down-pouring rain and 2 hour race suspension profoundly hurt Vettel's chances of victory, however, as after every safety car restart Vettel would lose the gap he had previously built up on the other drivers. With much fresher tyres, Button caught Vettel and began to pressure him in the last lap. Vettel slid on a damp part of the track on a corner, and Button used the opportunity to slip past him to take the victory. Vettel finished second, extending his championship lead to 60 points ahead of Button.

At the European Grand Prix, the FIA began enforcing a controversial ban on engine mappings. It was believed by many in the press that it was an attempt by the FIA to thwart Vettel's domination of the season. The changes appeared to do little to hinder Vettel, as he took pole with the fastest qualifying lap in the track's history. He dominated the race with his first triple of 2011 with pole, fastest lap, and won his sixth race out of eight races. It was the first time in Formula One history where, in the first eight races, a driver finished first in six or more races and second or better in the remaining races. The second set of controversial mid-season changes were implemented at Silverstone, targeting the blown diffusers. Red Bull believed the changes cost them about half a second per lap. Webber just edged Vettel for pole position by thirty-two thousandths of a second. On race day, Vettel made a better start, immediately took the lead and led the first half of the race. A delay at one of his pit stops gave the race lead to Alonso, who passed him in the pit lane, and dropped Vettel back to third, behind Hamilton. Despite a malfunctioning KERS unit, he was able to jump Hamilton in the stops and held off the faster Webber, who ignored a radio message from team principal Christian Horner to hold position, for second place, extending his lead in the championship.

Future

On 21 August 2009 it was announced that Red Bull and Vettel have extended his contract until the end of the 2011 season with an option for 2012. The option was taken up on 14 March 2011, as Vettel extended his contract with the team until the end of 2014. Vettel has mentioned he would like to at some point in his career drive for Ferrari, while Red Bull believes he will stay with them for as long as they supply a competitive car.

Race of Champions

Vettel competed in the 2007 Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium, representing the German team alongside Michael Schumacher. Vettel and Schumacher won the Nations' Cup Title, after exciting finals. Vettel had to beat two RoC champions, Heikki Kovalainen and Marcus Grönholm, after Schumacher stalled his car. Vettel lost the individual competition however, in first heat, in his second battle against Kovalainen. Vettel also competed in the 2008 Race of Champions, alongside Michael Schumacher. Once again they won the Nations' Cup Title after a close final against Scandinavia. In the Driver's Cup, Vettel beat Troy Bayliss in Round One, but lost to Sébastien Loeb in the Quarter-Finals. Again Vettel teamed up with Michael Schumacher for the 2009 RoC Nations Cup, which they went on to win in a run-off against the Great Britain team of Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx. In the 2010 edition, on home ground in Düsseldorf, Vettel again teamed up with Schumacher to win the Nations Cup for the fourth time in a row. In the Driver's Cup, Vettel was eliminated in the semi-finals by Filipe Albuquerque, who went on to win the event.

Helmet design

The Bergstraße coat of arms (lower left) that appears on the chin area of Vettel's helmet

Vettel's helmet, like most Red Bull-backed drivers, is heavily influenced by the energy drink company logo.

New to Vettel's helmet since the start of 2008 has been the incorporation of the red cross of the Kreis Bergstraße coat of arms on the front, just underneath the visor, in honour of the region of his birthplace, Heppenheim.

During pre-season testing for 2010, Vettel debuted a helmet resembling a Red Bull drink can complete with graphics of a stay-tab opener on top—which would become a recurring element in his helmets for this season. During the 2010 season, Vettel has used three main helmet designs, although he made some minor changes to some in certain races: besides his standard black helmet, he has used one with the same design but in chrome colors. For the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel had a special white-red helmet design, with black kanji and hiragana for "gives you wings". In 2011 he uses his traditional helmet, with some changes, like the black top and chin area with blue stylized dots, similar to his black helmet used in 2010.

Comparison to Michael Schumacher

After Vettel's unexpected win in Monza, this led for the media to dub him the "Baby Schumi", "New Schumacher", but Vettel plays down the comparison stating he wanted to be the "New Vettel". He was not just dubbed for his nationality but also because of his driving style, his concentration and the hands-on role he plays behind the scenes with his team of engineers. One difference is that Schumacher does not name his car but Vettel does, Julie (2008), Kate, Kate's Dirty Sister (2009), Luscious Liz, Randy Mandy (2010) and Kinky Kylie (2011).

Nevertheless, the similarities are marked. Like Schumacher, Vettel grew up in a small town with an everyday background—Schumacher's father a bricklayer and Vettel's a carpenter. Both had their first taste of racing at the Kerpen karting track near Cologne, not far from the Nürburgring. Vettel began driving in his garden lapping the garden many times, not even stopping to eat or shower, before he could legally take to the roads, and says his passion for cars was nurtured by watching Schumacher compete. He did not know that he would actually get to race his hero.

Both Schumacher and Vettel impressed in their debut races, both of which took place in the middle of a Formula One season. Neither would ever drive for their debut teams again. Instead, both immediately joined with non-manufacturer teams based upon selling non-automobile related products. Approximately a year after joining their new teams, as underdogs they would stun the Formula One world by winning races in cars few believed capable of winning. In their third full Formula One season and both driving cars numbered 5, both won their first World Drivers' Championship, at which point both drivers had 10 Grand Prix wins on their records. Vettel became the youngest ever driver to win the World Drivers' Championship, while Schumacher, by a little over a week, only narrowly missed out on achieving the very same feat. Both drivers won their non-manufacturer teams' maiden World Drivers' Championship as well as World Constructors' Championship.

After winning his first championship in 2010, and being hailed as the 'Next Schumacher', Vettel has stated he does not want to aim for Schumacher's record after learning how hard it was to get one championship under his belt, though he would like to win more.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2003	Formula BMW ADAC	Eifelland Racing	19	5	5	4	12	216	2nd
2004	Formula BMW ADAC	ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg	20	18	14	13	20	387	1st
2005	Formula 3 Euro Series	ASL Mücke Motorsport	20	0	0	1	5	57	5th
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
	Spanish Formula Three Championship	Racing Engineering	1	0	0	0	1	8	15th
	Macau Grand Prix	ASM F3	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
	Formula One	Williams F1 Team	Test driver
2006	Formula 3 Euro Series	ASM Formule 3	20	4	1	5	9	75	2nd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	23rd
	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Carlin Motorsport	3	1	1	0	2	28	15th
	Masters of Formula 3	ASL Mücke Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	6th
	Formula One	BMW Sauber F1 Team	Test driver
2007	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Carlin Motorsport	7	1	1	1	4	74	5th
	Formula One	BMW Sauber F1 Team	1	0	0	0	0	6	14th
		Scuderia Toro Rosso	7	0	0	0	0
2008	Formula One	Scuderia Toro Rosso	18	1	1	0	1	35	8th
2009	Formula One	Red Bull Racing	17	4	4	3	8	84	2nd
2010	Formula One	Red Bull Racing	19	5	10	3	10	256	1st
2011	Formula One	Red Bull Racing	9	6	7	1	9	204*	1st*

^* Season in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2005	ASL Mücke Motorsport	Dallara F305/011	Mercedes	HOC1 1 15	HOC1 2 5	PAU 1 7	PAU 2 11	SPA 1 DSQ	SPA 2 13	MON 1 18	MON 2 17	OSC 1 5	OSC 2 5	NOR 1 2	NOR 2 4	NÜR 1 11	NÜR 2 2	ZAN 1 2	ZAN 2 2	LAU 1 3	LAU 2 15	HOC2 1 13	HOC2 2 3	5th	57
2006	ASM Formule 3	Dallara F305/059	Mercedes	HOC1 1 5	HOC1 2 1	LAU 1 3	LAU 2 6	OSC 1 5	OSC 2 14	BRH 1 2	BRH 2 7	NOR 1 2	NOR 2 Ret	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 1	ZAN 1 24	ZAN 2 2	CAT 1 1	CAT 2 Ret	LMS 1 9	LMS 2 9	HOC2 1 3	HOC2 2 12	2nd	75

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	DC	Points
2006	Carlin Motorsport	ZOL 1	ZOL 2	MON 1	IST 1	IST 2	MIS 1 1	MIS 2 2	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 DNS	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	DON 1	DON 2	LMS 1	LMS 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	15th	28
2007	Carlin Motorsport	MNZ 1 5	MNZ 2 3	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 6	MON 1 2	HUN 1 4	HUN 2 3	SPA 1	SPA 2	DON 1	DON 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	EST 1	EST 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	5th	74

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
2006	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.06	BMW P86 2.4 V8	BHR	MAL	AUS	SMR	EUR	ESP	MON	GBR	CAN	USA	FRA	GER	HUN	TUR TD	ITA TD	CHN TD	JPN TD	BRA TD		–	–
2007	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.07	BMW P86/7 2.4 V8	AUS TD	MAL TD	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA 8	FRA	GBR	EUR										14th	6
	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR2	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8											HUN 16	TUR 19	ITA 18	BEL Ret	JPN Ret	CHN 4	BRA Ret
2008	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR2B	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	BHR Ret	ESP Ret	TUR 17															8th	35
		Toro Rosso STR3	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8						MON 5	CAN 8	FRA 12	GBR Ret	GER 8	HUN Ret	EUR 6	BEL 5	ITA 1	SIN 5	JPN 6	CHN 9	BRA 4
2009	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB5	Renault RS27 2.4 V8	AUS 13	MAL 15	CHN 1	BHR 2	ESP 4	MON Ret	TUR 3	GBR 1	GER 2	HUN Ret	EUR Ret	BEL 3	ITA 8	SIN 4	JPN 1	BRA 4	ABU 1			2nd	84
2010	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB6	Renault RS27 2.4 V8	BHR 4	AUS Ret	MAL 1	CHN 6	ESP 3	MON 2	TUR Ret	CAN 4	EUR 1	GBR 7	GER 3	HUN 3	BEL 15	ITA 4	SIN 2	JPN 1	KOR Ret	BRA 1	ABU 1	1st	256
2011	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB7	Renault RS27 2.4 V8	AUS 1	MAL 1	CHN 2	TUR 1	ESP 1	MON 1	CAN 2	EUR 1	GBR 2	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU	BRA	1st*	204*

^* Season in progress.

Formula One records

Vettel holds the following Formula One records:

Record	Achieved
Most championship points earned in a season	2010 season (14 November 2010, 256 points)
Most consecutive top two finishes from the start of the season	9 finishes (Australia 2011 – 2011 Great Britain) (record shared with Fernando Alonso (Bahrain 2006 – Canada 2006))
Most consecutive top two results (in both qualifying and race)	11 results (Brazil 2010 – 2011 Great Britain)
Most consecutive top two results (in both qualifying and race), from the start of the season	9 results (Australia 2011 – 2011 Great Britain)
Youngest driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting	2006 Turkish Grand Prix (25 August 2006, aged 19 years, 53 days)
Youngest driver to set fastest time in an official Grand Prix session
Youngest driver to score points in Formula One	2007 United States Grand Prix (17 June 2007, aged 19 years, 349 days)
Youngest race leader in Formula One, for at least one lap	2007 Japanese Grand Prix (30 September 2007, aged 20 years, 89 days)
Youngest Grand Prix pole position winner	2008 Italian Grand Prix (13 September 2008, aged 21 years, 72 days)
Youngest driver to score a podium position in Formula One	2008 Italian Grand Prix (14 September 2008, aged 21 years, 73 days)
Youngest Grand Prix winner
Youngest driver to score a double
Youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion	2010 season (14 November 2010, aged 23 years, 135 days)
Youngest World Drivers' Championship runner-up	2009 season (1 November 2009, aged 22 years, 121 days)
Youngest driver to score a triple	2009 British Grand Prix (aged 21 years, 353 days)

External links

• Sebastian Vettel official site Template:De icon
• Sebastian Vettel at IMDb
• Profile – from Formula 1 official website
• Profile – from BBC F1
• Profile – from ESPN
• Vettel's career details